Daughter of a Dixon ✔️

21: Fight for the Farm

When the three of us got down to the edge of the woods, I pointed to the exact place where I saw Shane and Randall go. "That's where they went into the woods."

"Yeah... you can see their footprints right there," Dad said, pointing to the ground. Sure enough, there were two pairs of footprints imbedded in the leaves, one sizably bigger than the other.

"Alright, come on then, and keep your guard up," Rick said, treading carefully beside the footprints.

"Is Shane dangerous?" I asked, following behind him.

It took Rick a minute to answer, and when he did, his voice was quiet. "He could be."

I didn't ask anymore questions after that; I simply followed behind Rick and Dad, trying to listen out for any noise.

We followed the footprints for awhile, until we came to a place where they split in two different directions.

"Somethin' happened here," Dad said, gesturing to a general area in front of a tree. I looked down there, and saw that there was a huge spot of disturbed leaves and ground. It seemed as if Shane and Randall had fought.

"Alright, I'll take these footprints, you and Sidney take those," Rick said to Dad.

"You be alright on your own?" Dad asked.

"Yeah... I think it's better that way."

By the look in both Dad and Rick's eyes, I could tell that there was some sort of unspoken communication that I was missing out on. I watched them carefully, and saw that Rick was tapping the side of his revolver with his index finger. Dad's eyes flickered down to that for a mere second before he looked back up, and nodded.

"Alright," he uttered in a quiet voice. Before they went their separate ways, Dad gave Rick a pat on the shoulder, nodding one last time.

Then, they split off, and Dad and I started walking after our set of footprints. It took a few minutes of silence before I couldn't take it anymore, and finally spoke.

"Dad... is Rick gonna kill Shane?"

I asked the question bluntly, because I didn't know any other way to ask it. And, in all honesty, I wouldn't be upset if Rick killed him. Shane had basically gone border-line insane, and that was the last thing you needed in the world we were living in.

"Ya gotta think about it... If Rick doesn't kill Shane, there's a big possibility that Shane'll kill him," Dad answered. I could tell he was beating around the bush at what he really thought.

"Do you think Rick'll do it?" I asked, looking over to him.

"I think he's got all the reason to, doesn't mean he will."

I was about to press Dad further, but then, I heard the sound of cracking leaves a little ways in front of us. I knew that Dad heard it, too, because he protectively stepped in front of me, raising his crossbow. I looked out at the woods from behind him, scanning the area for what made the noise.

Suddenly, Dad fired his crossbow, startling me slightly. I heard the arrow go through something that sounded similar to a walker's head.